[12/16/08 - 10:22 AM]Giants-Cowboys Most Viewed Game in Snf HistoryNBC spins the numbers for Sunday, December 14.

[via press release from NBC]

GIANTS-COWBOYS MOST VIEWED GAME IN SNF HISTORY

With 23.1 Million Viewers, SNF is No. 1 Primetime Program of the Week; No 3 Primetime Program of Entire TV Season

NEW YORK - Dec. 16, 2008 -- The Dallas Cowboys 20-8 victory over the Super Bowl champion New York Giants on "NBC Sunday Night Football" drew the most viewers ever for a "Sunday Night Football" game. With 23.1 million viewers, Sunday night's broadcast was the No.1 primetime program for the week and the No. 3 primetime program for the entire television season according to data provided by Nielsen Media Research.

"NBC Sunday Night Football" was No. 1 for the week among viewers (23.1 million) household rating (13.7/21), Adults 18-49 (8.6) and other key demographics. It was a record for SNF in total viewers (excludes Monday afternoon 12/25/06 Philadelphia-Dallas game which drew 23.2 million viewers).

Sunday Night's broadcast is the No. 1 primetime program on any network this TV season among Adults 18-49 (8.6) and is the top primetime telecast on any network in total viewers (23.1 million viewers overall) since the November 16 telecast of 60 Minutes, which featured an interview with President Elect Barack Obama (25.1 million). For the season, this week's SNF broadcast is No. 3 behind only that 60 Minutes and the October 9 CSI season premiere (23.5 million). Additionally, SNF was the No. 1 series in the November sweeps period among adults 18-49 and other key advertising demographics.

The 13.7 rating, 21 share gave SNF its highest-rated game of the season and the third highest-rated SNF history. Sunday night's game registered the best rating for an SNF game since Week 9 of the 2006 season (Indianapolis-New England, 15.1/22) and was 44 percent higher than last season's Redskins-Giants game (9.5/15 on 12/16/07).

SNF AVERAGING 16.8 MILLION VIEWERS: NBC's 14 "Sunday Night Football" broadcasts are averaging 16.8 million viewers a five percent gain from last year's 16.1 million. The 10.3/16 household rating is a three percent advantage over last year (10.0/16).